Keep in mind that if someone has a high rank but doesn't play a game type for a while they loose their rank but keep their mmr.

Match making is based on mmr, and so you should not get put against these unranked players.
At your level the only unranked players you should be put against are unranked players who have not played 10 games of your game type this season (considering the season is nearing an end these should be few/far between). And actual smurfers/skilled players using new accounts. Which if you believe the community there are a lot of them, but in my experience these are pretty few also.

With these things in mind I can't see how this is happening to you 1 in 4 games. I'm not calling you a liar, I just fail to see how it can be this frequent?

Not loosing any points when playing against someone who's unranked isn't a terrible idea... but after 10 games any of the very few 'unintentional smurfers' (people who still haven't played 10 games of 1v1 this season) will still only be a low rank because rank doesn't rise that quickly, and you will still get put up against them.
So you will still loose points to them.

Yes, React + Redux (but very few things in redux as current interaction is pretty limited).

To be honest, I don't have a clue about how load-out changes depending on difficulty, or what going cheap means. I would love to add these sliders but I have no clue about the data. I you want to help, please please send data.

Just for clarification, you're citing an older comment. The latest announcement was in the 1.3 Trailer release here:

We do want to give our Mac and Linux Terrarians a quick update as well. Based upon current status and planning, the plan is that Mac/Linux will launch shortly after 1.3 - aiming for a launch within the month of July. This is being done to ensure the most stable Mac/Linux builds possible so that everyone has the best experience that we can provide.

It will most likely be days, not hours -- just so Mac and Linux users aren't pulling their hair out wondering why they're not getting updates today.